New
New
Extended reading (Don Quijote): imperfect continuous
I can use the imperfect continuous to talk about what I and other people were doing in the past.
Lesson 7 of 7
New
New
- Year 9
Extended reading (Don Quijote): imperfect continuous
I can use the imperfect continuous to talk about what I and other people were doing in the past.
Lesson details
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- Words stressed on the penultimate syllable don’t have an accent if they end in a vowel, -n or -s.
- The imperfect continuous describes what someone was doing, e.g. 'estaba(s) caminando por la montaña.'
- The preterite tense is used for completed actions in the past.
- We can give extra information about when something happened using the relative pronoun 'cuando'.
- We use 'cuando' + preterite to show a short action interrupts a longer, ongoing action.
Keywords
Imperfect continuous - verb tense used to talk about ongoing actions in the past, what was happening
Preterite - a tense used for events completed in the past
Cuando - relative pronoun meaning 'when'
Common misconception
When I talk about a past action I must always use the preterite.
The preterite is used for actions that are completed and finished in the past. The imperfect is used for ongoing, habitual, or background actions in the past - things that were happening or used to happen.
The teacher can show students a short clip of the section with the windmills, e.g. an animated story, or a clip or images of the windmills themselves.
Teacher tip
Equipment
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).
Lesson video
Loading...
Some of our videos, including non-English language videos, do not have captions.
Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which verb means 'I had'?
Which verb means 'I had'?
tener
tengo
tiene
tuvo
Q2.Match the Spanish and English.
Match the Spanish and English.
Q3.Match the Spanish and English.
Match the Spanish and English.
Q4.Order the words to say: 'I walk around the city with the map'.
Order the words to say: 'I walk around the city with the map'.
Q5.Write in English: 'hay unos edificios altos'.
Write in English: 'hay unos edificios altos'.
Q6.Write in Spanish: 'I live in the countryside'.
Write in Spanish: 'I live in the countryside'.
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.Which words need an accent?
Which words need an accent?
joven
maravilloso
vivienda
Q2.'Estaba caminando por el campo cuando ...'. Choose the correct sentence ending.
'Estaba caminando por el campo cuando ...'. Choose the correct sentence ending.
... llegaba el enemigo.
... llega el enemigo.
... estaba llegando el enimgo.
... va a llegar el enemigo.
Q3.Write in Spanish: 'I found a weapon'.
Write in Spanish: 'I found a weapon'.
Q4.Write in Spanish: 'you were continuing'.
Write in Spanish: 'you were continuing'.
